Thermal gas-cut-off valve.



4 E. (C. WEISGERBER. THERMAL GAS CUT-OFF VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED 1m31.191s.

fa Patented Mar'.'13,1917.

EnwIN c, 'wEIs'GERBER oEPITIsBURGH, rENNsiLvANIa-AssIGNoR To EQUITABLE METER coMrRNY, or PImrsBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION E EENN- sYLvANIA.- i

To allwhomz'tmayconoem: i .Be it known that I, EDWIN CQ WEIS- G'ERBER, residingat Pittsburgh, in thecounty that, in case the building takes fire, the gas will be automatically shut off to prevent its feeding the irfe or causing an explosion.'

In valves of the character and for thepur'- pose contemplated by my'invention, it is" very desirable that the valve rod or stembe adequately packed to prevent the gas from leaking. To assure valves in case of fire,

usually strong and stiff spring, it being un- 25l derstood that'y the valve stem,'having re- 'aqperiod mained in open-valve position for of perhaps several years, will, by the `packing, by corrosion,"or otherwise, become so firmly held in such position that a spring of suflicient strength to readily move the stem when the valve is installed, will fail at such latei period. However, to directly hold the stem vagainst the resistance of' a strong fspring, a heavy and strong fusible link or other connecting element, is required, and

it will be readily appreciated that the fusi- .ble material required to construct a heavy connecting element'will fuse vless quickly than a smaller and weaker element.

Withl ythe foregoing considerations in mind, the object of my invention may be stated as being to provide a thermal cut-oiii valve havingaV vpacked stem pressed by means of a strong spring toward valve-clos ing position, valve position'against the pressure of such strong spring by means of a relatively weak and readily fusible link, the valve furthermore being simple in construction, certain and positive in its operation, and inexpensive to manufacture.

In the .accompanying sheet of .drawings which form part of my specification, I have illustrated the "s pecflcationof Letters Patent."`

the operation of the it is necessary that thev valve be pressed`toward the seat by an unbut indirectly heldin open-` preferred embodiment of my THERMAL' G As-UT-OEE lvAmfE.

invention. fFigurel is a longitudinalcenj tral sectionalview of the valve `and mechanlsm forclosing 1t automatically as well as manually; Fig. 2 a detail view showing a Patented Mar.'13,191'7.' Appncation'iea'zranuary31,191e seiia1Nq.75,5 5. 7 I i' modification ofconstruction; and 'Fig perspective view of the fusible link shown in sectlon in Flgs. land 2. A

- 'Injthe practice of-my invention, I provide a casing having a valve seat therein and a valve stem ylongitudinally movable to and from 'such seat. The'va'lvel stemis adequa'tely p acled to prevent the escape of gas, Vand is yieldingly pressed towardthe seat by means of a stiff spring `withinthe casing. Outsideof the casing there is a pivoted lever having a short arm which'engages the outer end of the valve stemjanda long arm connected by a fusible elementtoga support to' hold l.the valve stem in open valve-posh tion. Preferably a pivoted finger is interposed between the long arm of the lever and the fusible element so that they lever may :be

released manually by the movement of such v ifinger, or automatically by the fusion of tlie 1n y vIn the embodiment of my invention illustrated particularly in Fig. 1, the valve casing is formed of four parts, a pipe connecting member 1, a cylinder or barrel 2, a cap 4o'r packing-nut 3' and a lever support 4.

The member 1 is provided with an inlet chamber 5, outlet chamber 6 and a ccmmunicating portand valve-seat 7. The cyl-4 inder 2 has screw thread attachment .to a side outlet `ofthe member l and surroundsthe longitudinally `movable valve stem 8,4

having at its inner end a closure 9, pressed by a stiff spring 10 toward the seat "7. It

will be observed that the cylinder surroundsv the spring 10, thus protecting it against the deteriorating effects' of the atmosphere g'and furthermore, that the varrangement is such that-'the spring contacts' neither withthe valve stem nor cylinder, expand when released. stem is packed by means of a suitable gasket 11, bushing 1Q and the nut 8.

As already statedihe stem 8 is held` in.

open valve position bymeans of a lever.

This lever is pivoted as at'l to the support 4, and has a shortarm 14, which engages a lhole 15 atv theouter'end ofthe stem,and a long arm 16 to which the Afusible element is 4either",directly or indirectly atta'c'hed.` The thus being free to The 'outer end of the j fusible element is preferably in the'form of A a link 17 having a central portion 18 of relatively low fusion material` and outer portions of high fusion material. In the embodiment' of my invention shown in Fig. 2 the fusible link 17 directly engages the vlong lever arm 1Ga and a laterally'projecting stem 19a of the support '-Lla. Preferably, however, the arm 16 has a finger 20pivoted lto its outer en d and adapted to engage the link, as' shown in Fig. 1, thus effecting an indirect attachment of the long lever arm to the stem 19. To theinger20A there is attached a chain 21, which extends through a floorv 22, and is supported at its upper end `within a box' 23, having a glass face 24. This box may be placed in an exposed position inthe faceofl a'ivall, the arrangement being'suchthat in case of fire the glass face 2flma1y be broken and the' chain 21 pulled Y to release the finger from its engagement 'With thelink 17, so-that the valve stem 8 may, under'the' pressure of the springlO,

,move to valve-closing position. i

The operation of the valve Will be readily understood .from the foregoing explanation. The'valve of Fig.` 2 is intended only for automatic operation `upon the fusion of f the link 17 j While that of Fig.' 1 may, in addition to its automatieA operation, be operated manuallyv in the `manner described. It will be observed of the valve that the packed stem may be placed under ,the pressure of a stiff spring Withoutth'e necessity of employv movable valve stem, a sti" spring for pressling, a structurally heavy fusible link, and that, when thellinki's fusedor manually ref leased,'the v'stem Will be'free 'to move under the pressure ofthe 'spring'. Accordingtojthe'provisions of the patent statutes, I have described thelprinciple and operation of. my invention together with the valve Which I nowconsider -to be the best iembodin'ient thereof. HoWeven-I desire tol, have it. understood 'that thev valve shovvnfis onlyillustrative and that my infventicn may be practised by other forms of ',valv'es.'

I claim as .my invention: 1. In a thermal cut-oil' valve, the combination of a casing, a packed longitudinallyi ing said stem toward valve-closing position,

a' lever pivoted to said casing adjacent to the outer end of said stem and having long and short a'rms extending transversely to said stem, the short arm ofsaid 'leverdengaging the outer end of said stem, and a fusible link'connecting the long arm of the leverto said casing so as to hold theystem in its open-valve 4position against the pres` sure of said spring. n

2. In athermal cut-odv valve, the combination of acasing, a packed longitudinallymovable valve stem, a spring within said caslng and exertmg its pressure vupon saidA stem to 'press it toward valve-closing posination of a casing, a packed longitudinally; movable valve stem therein, a spring Within the casing' exertinga pressure uponsaid stemto press it toward valve-closing position, said pressure being substantially greater than that required to overcome the oppositely-acting fluid pressure o'n the valve and the frictional resistance of the valve stem packing, a lever having long and short arms pivoted to said casing adjacent t0 the outer end of said stem, the short arm of said lever engaging said stem and the long arm thereof having a linger pivoted thereto, and a 'fusible link. connecting said fingerwith saidcasing and thereby holding said stem f in open valveposition against the pressure of said spring, the tensile strengthof said link being less than the unbalanced spring pressure upon said'stem.

4. In a thermal cut-off valve, the combi'-4 nation of a casing comprising a` pipe connecting member, a spring-inclosing sleeve at one side thereof and a packing nut; a

longitudinally-movable valve stem eXtending "through said sleeve and packing nut and having a lever-receiving hole at itsv outer end, a stiff spring Within said sleeve and exerting its pressure upon said' stem topress it'tovvard valve-closing position, a lever support secured to said sleeve andprovided With a laterally extending link. engager, a lever pivoted to said support and `having long and vshort arms ektending 'transverselyof said stem, the short arm of said vlever extending into said. hole in the valve stem, a linger pivoted to the outerVv I' end of the long arm of the lever, and aV fusible link connecting said finger with the link engager of said support andthereby holding said .valve stem in openvalve position against the-pressure of said spring.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

EDWIN C. WEISGERBER. Witnesses v PAUL N. CRrroHLoW, l FRANCIS JIIOMAssoN. 

